On Tuesday, June 26, the Senate blocked a bill that would allow the labor union to organize workplaces without a what's called a secret ballot election. Under current labor law, a company can demand a secret ballot election supervised by the federal government after being presented the union cards. By using only a card check system, the companies would enable union organizers to use their knowledge of who did and didn't sign cards to intimidate reluctant workers. As a result, the union proposed a bill that would require employers to recognize unions after being presented union cards signed by a majority of eligible workers on their payrolls. However, democrats were unable to get the 60 votes needed to force consideration of the Employee Free Choice Act, ending organized labor's chance to win its top legislative priority from Congress with a final vote of 51-48.
Personally, I think that the bill proposed by the union is somewhat necessary for the labors. The unions have complained that employers have greater access to workers during secret ballot campaigns and have also claimed that corporate threats, intimidation and eventual firings have become common for union activists. They said that by dragging out the election process, companies often succeed in wearing down union enthusiasm and also added how obstacles to organizing are a major reason union membership has dropped from 20 percent of wage and salary workers in 1983 to 12 percent in 2006.
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2 comments:
i believe that unions are a great thing and ard their for the aid of many workers.
-jane
I find it difficult to follow your train of thought. The bill requires the employers to recognize unions after presenting union cards signed by the majority of the workers. What does this accomplish? I think the unions are important in order to help many workers and I think the bill is well-intended and therefore I partially agree with your logic.
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